For many new parents, the sight of their newborn peacefully asleep is one to behold - a moment to savour and a short respite from constant rounds of feeds and nappy changing.

Dispelling the myth that sleep is an alien concept to newborns, New Jersey photographer Alicia Gould has captured these heartwarming moments in a series of pictures of babies in the earliest stages of their lives.

Alicia, 32, captures the babies, some as young as three days old, in a variety of poses and mostly asleep.

Sleeping beauty: Photographer Alicia Gould has taken a series of adorable pictures of newborn babies when they are just a few days old

Cute: Most of the pictures, including this one, show the children while they are fast asleep

Child's play: Alicia, who says she loves the 'simplicity' of photographing newborns spends around three hours on each shoot

Angelic: Alicia captures the children in a range of poses and with differing expressions on their faces

She said: 'I like the simplicity of photographing newborns.

'My goal is really just to freeze that moment in time, the physical and the emotional.